On January 22, the Supreme Court will hear 60-plus petitions challenging the constitutionality of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA). As a matter of fact, it is the apex court that is largely responsible for the current mess. Its Sarbananda Sonowal judgment (2005), which struck down the Assam-specific Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunal) Act (IMDT), was the turning point of the debate on ‘illegal migrants’. Some observations made in the ruling bordered on the xenophobic and were filled with paranoia about ‘outsiders’. Now, some of these ‘outsiders’ will become beneficiaries if the court does not rule against the CAA.
In the Sonowal judgment (2005), the Supreme Court struck down the Assam-specific Act that had put the burden of proof on the state rather than on the person alleged to be a foreigner. Without providing any evidence, the court went on to say that “unabated influx of illegal migrants from Bangladesh into Assam [had] led to a perceptible change in the demographic pattern of the State and reduced the Assamese people to a minority in their own State.” The National Register of Citizens (NRC), monitored by the Supreme Court itself, has proved these fears to be exaggerated. Even if all the 19 lakh excluded people are considered ‘illegal migrants’, their composition as a proportion of Assam’s population is just 4%.
CAA is territory-specific
Bu hikaye The Hindu dergisinin January 21, 2020 sayısından alınmıştır.
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Bu hikaye The Hindu dergisinin January 21, 2020 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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